Up to local newspapers

I often disagree with Spokesman columnist Shawn Vestal. I may not like Vestal’s conclusions, but Spokane needs reporters to keep a steady eye on the mayor, city council members, county commissioners and anyone else who has power over us. Vestal is one of those reporters.

The trend across America is for hedge funds and media conglomerates to buy up local newspapers, then pick the carcasses clean. No one is left to scrutinize the activities of those who govern locally.

Mayor Nadine Woodward seems to be a nice person but she should never make an official act or speak a political comment without a skeptical reporter in the audience. I don’t mean reporters grinding their own political ax, I mean reporters who ask straightforward questions.

Local reporter Evan Brandt was terminated in a buyout of The Mercury, a town paper in Pennsylvania. His story describes the sad situation when local newspaper reporters are terminated. Google: “Evan Brandt Pottstown Mercury.”

Let us hope that Jim Camden, Sue Lani Madsen, Laurel Demkovich, Chad Sokol, Kip Hill, Adam Shanks, Arielle Dreher, Rebecca White, Jim Allen and all the other local reporters will be around to do local reporting in Spokane.

The biggest burden falls on the Cowles family and Editor Rob Curley who must keep the Spokesman-Review economically viable in this time of newspaper calamity. They are up against staggering odds. We count on them to keep the sunshine beaming down on our local power brokers, giving no dark corners for them to hide.

Darin Z. Krogh

Spokane